The ,
Clemson University graduate played
center, and gained high esteem for his defense, particularly his rebounding and shot-
blocking ability. On February 21, 1979, while playing for the
Atlanta Hawks, Rollins blocked a career high 12 shots in a 106–83 win over the
Portland Trail Blazers. In all, he finished in the top three in blocked shots six times, including leading the league during the
1982–83 NBA season, during which he would finish second in
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting. At the time of his retirement in
1995, he was fourth all-time in career blocked shots, behind only
Hakeem Olajuwon,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
Mark Eaton, with a total of 2,542. He currently holds the ninth highest total of career blocked shots, having been passed on the list by
Dikembe Mutombo,
David Robinson,
Patrick Ewing,
Tim Duncan, and
Shaquille O'Neal. During his playing career, Rollins was given the nickname "The Intimidator". In 1983, as a member of the
Atlanta Hawks, playing in Game 3 of the first round, he got into a fight with
Danny Ainge of the
Boston Celtics. In retaliation for allegedly being called a "sissy", Rollins elbowed Ainge in the face. Ainge subsequently tackled Rollins to the ground and the two began to wrestle. Rollins then bit Ainge's middle finger so badly that it required a couple of stitches. After the fight, Ainge was ejected and Rollins was not. However, the Celtics went on to win the series 2–1. The incident inspired opposing fans to occasionally hold up signs referring to the incident with sayings like "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" during some of his subsequent games. In the late 1980s, still with the Hawks, Rollins was asked how he felt about the team playing an exhibition game in the Soviet Union. Rollins replied that he had already been to the Soviet Union, "and I don't need to go back." Rollins was a
player-coach with the
Orlando Magic, serving as an assistant coach from 1993 to 1999 and backup
center during the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons. He was an assistant coach for the
Washington Wizards and
Indiana Pacers and the second (and last) coach of the now-defunct
Greenville Groove of the
National Basketball Development League (NBDL). He went 22-28 while the Groove dissolved after the season ended. Rollins joined the
WNBA's
Washington Mystics in 2006 as an assistant coach. On June 1, 2007, he was named interim head coach following
Richie Adubato's resignation early in the season. In 2013, Rollins became an assistant coach with the WNBA's
Chicago Sky. One small distinction for Rollins was that he was the last player to wear canvas
Converse All Stars (leather ones were worn in 1982 by
Micheal Ray Richardson) in the NBA when in the 1979–80 season he laced up modified Chuck Taylors which had the Circle Star patch removed on the inside ankle. Instead these had star chevrons sewed to the sides of the canvas similar to the Converse All Star II that had been sold earlier. ==Achievements==